Iran arrests 24 for spying for Israel, tarnishing country’s image

TEHRAN: Iranian police announced the arrest on Thursday of 24 people accused of spying for Israel and of seeking to tarnish the country’s image, according to a statement carried by Tasnim news agency.

“Twenty-four individuals who were spying for the Zionist enemy offline and online, and who were… trying to disturb public opinion, and to tarnish and destroy the image of the sacred system of the Islamic Republic of Iran, were arrested,” said police commander for west Tehran Kiumars Azizi.

Meanwhile, Iraq’s top Shia Muslim cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani warned against targeting Iran’s leadership and said that the Israel-Iran war could plunge the whole region into chaos.

Sistani said in a statement Thursday that any targeting of Iran’s “supreme religious and political leadership” would have “dire consequences on the region”.

He warned that such action against the Shiite-led Islamic republic could spark “widespread chaos that would exacerbate the suffering of its (the region’s) people and severely harm everyone’s interests”.

Sistani urged the international community to “make every effort to end this unjust war and find a peaceful solution” to concerns about Iran’s nuclear programme.

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Sistani, an Iranian, is the highest religious authority for millions of Shiite Muslims in Iraq and around the world, with the power to mobilise a huge following in Iraq.

Despite his Iranian roots, Sistani is seen as a key figure in Iraq’s recent history and has been known for pushing back against Tehran’s growing clout in the country.

Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said Thursday that Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “can no longer be allowed to exist” after an Israeli hospital was hit during an Iranian missile attack.

Earlier this week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not rule out plans to assassinate Khamenei.